EDWARDSVILLE — It took a jury Thursday less than three hours to find a Glen Carbon man guilty of murder for shooting and killing an acquaintance at a backyard party on a 2017 Labor Day weekend.

A jury found Steven McGauley, 47, of Glen Carbon, guilty of first-degree murder after Madison County Assistant State’s AttorneyKerri Davis argued that McGauley had plenty of time and opportunity to avoid fatally shooting Steven Flack, 43.

Defense attorney Morgan Scroggins argued McGauley was “beaten to a pulp” by Flack, but police and a nurse testified in the daysprior that his injuries were minor.

In finding McGauley guilty of first-degree murder, jurors said they did not believe the theory of self-defense in the fatal Sept. 3,2017 shooting.

Witnesses testified that McGauley was the aggressor in a fight that preceded the shooting, in which Flack left McGauley bloodyafter a party guest said Flack confronted McGauley for allegedly battering his wife. After the fight, McGauley retreated into hishome in the 100 block of Hillcrest Drive in Glen Carbon, retrieved a .38-caliber revolver and returned to the backyard, shootingFlack five times. McGauley claimed Flack was the aggressor.

During testimony Wednesday, McGauley told jurors about an interaction between he and his wife in which she “playfully” tried tokick him and fell to the floor. He testified that she was drunk, and he helped her to her feet.

McGauley testified Wednesday that he told Flack that bruises on his wife’s arm were from a fall, and scratches adjacent thebruises were from a tomato plant.

Davis argued there was convincing evidence of a past pattern of McGauley abusing his wife, Mary McGauley.

She said the defendant, himself, testified he went into his house after a fist fight, wandered around, considered cleaning theblood from his face, considered retrieving a cell phone, then spotted Flack in the back yard, then went to a bedroom andretrieved a .38-caliber handgun.

“He made a conscious decision to arm himself with a firearm. He could have locked the door; he could have kept the gun andstayed inside; he could have gone out the front door; he could have done anything but what he actually did,” Davis argued.

“He has every motive to lie. He thoughtfully and vengefully killed Steven Flack in cold blood.”